Author Archives: Carel Neffenger

The Atomic Age

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On January 26, 1939, Niels Bohr publicly announced the splitting of the uranium atom. A plaque outside the entrance to Corcoran Hall at The George Washington University commemorates this.

The Fifth Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics, organized by George Gamow and Edward Teller, was held to discuss low-temperature physics and superconductivity.

However, the most famous event at the conference came from Niels Bohr with the public announcement that the nucleus of uranium had been split by bombardment with neutrons, with significant energy release. This was the dawn of the atomic age.

Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
George Gamow
George Gamow
Edward Teller
Edward Teller

The announcement occurred in the Hall of Government, Room 209, which is located across 21st Street from Corcoran Hall.

Another plaque was placed inside Room 209 of the Hall of Government commemorating the announcement along with a list of the physicists present.

Chicago Pile-1

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December 2, 1942

Henry Moore’s sculpture, Nuclear Energy, at the site of the first controlled nuclear fission reaction on the University of Chicago campus.

On this day on December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and colleagues conducted the first controlled nuclear fission reaction at the University of Chicago (Chicago Pile-1). The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. This Henry Moore sculpture, Nuclear Energy, was placed at the site on the 25th anniversary in 1967.

Atomic Snapshots: 109 E Palace

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109 E Palace

In a nondescript arcade of shops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the unassuming front face of the Manhattan Project for Los Alamos and the Hill: 109 E Palace.

Dorothy McKibbin, the “Gatekeeper to Los Alamos,” would process each of the scientists and families and keep the overwhelming secretarial work in order, essentially ensuring the top-secret access to Los Alamos.

The entrance to the old offices was off the patio, in back, where men and women entered through the alleyway, and the townsfolk never saw them come out. They were whisked away out the back and spirited to Los Alamos. 

Today, the building has been rezoned and numbered, and the current 109 E Palace is a chocolatier with an entrance on the street.

Go to the back of the courtyard to see the historical marker. And don’t forget to visit the Los Alamos History Museum to see the original door, history, and a tribute to Dorothy McKibbin.